The present invention relates to a method and to a device for driving a centrifuge with a line supplying a liquid that contains a suspension of solids, an outlet for the clarified liquid, and another outlet for the concentrated solids, whereby the concentration of the solids, which leave the second outlet at a constant output, is regulated as a function of their viscosity by returning some of them to the centrifuge through an adjustable flow regulator.
A method of this type is known, from U.S. Pat. No. 2,532,792 for example. A rotating body that turns at a constant speed is positioned in a measuring channel. As the viscosity of the solids flowing through the channel increases, the torque needed to turn the rotor also increases. The increase in torque is exploited to adjust a flow regulator in such a way as to decrease the volume of solids returned to the centrifuge. Since generating and processing the torque is very expensive from the aspects of design and controls technology, the known process is often too costly to be practical.